Through a FOIA request to the California Horse Racing Board, I have obtained the following details on some of that state’s kills last year (previous installments here).
Ounce, Jun 18, Santa Anita T
“Sudden death episode while jogging – cause not determined.” Also: “abrasions around both eye sockets [presumably from the fall]; foam oozing from nares; severe, chronic stomach ulcers,” and – “tapeworms in the cecum.” Ounce was two years old, a baby.
Xpensive, Aug 15, Los Alamitos T
“Catastrophic fractures of the tarsal – complete, comminuted.” Also, in same leg: “previous fracture and surgery [with] screw placed.” Xpensive was three years old.
Gentle Peace, Aug 17, Los Alamitos R
“Catastrophic scapular fractures: complete, displaced, comminuted; severe, extensive hemorrhage in surrounding muscles and other tissues associated with tearing of vessels and fibers.” Gentle was two years old, and this was his second ever race.
Passarando, Sep 9, Del Mar S
“Arrived at hospital Sep 7 with hemorrhagic diarrhea, endotoxemia, and severe dehydration. Sep 9, hemorrhagic diarrhea returned [with] severe GI pain. Euthanized.” Final diagnosis: “necrohemorrhagic typhlocolitis with thrombosis; hemorrhages in diaphragm, costal musculature, pericardial adipose, heart, lung, spleen, kidney, adrenal gland, and ventral aspect of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae.” The necropsy also noted Passarando’s “sunken eyes.” Oh how this poor boy, just four years old, suffered. As a postscript, Passarando had also been “claimed” – sold – right before his last race, just a week earlier. And get this: He suffered pulmonary hemorrhage during that race.
Big Irene, Sep 14, Los Alamitos T
“Flipped, hit head, agonal, died: [multiple] complete, displaced, comminuted skull fractures; regionally-extensive hemorrhage in the nasal cavity, cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone, paranasal sinuses, guttural pouch, pharyngeal cavity, and musculature surrounding the fractured bones.” And: “several deep stomach ulcers.” Big Irene was two years old and being prepped for her first race.
Jdoe: When a dog is run to exhaustion in the Iditarod sled dog race, police are not involved directly or at all. I don’t believe the police are ever involved in the abuse of sled dogs. The only way I have ever heard of sled dogs being run to exhaustion is through emails from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and not from any news reports stating that a police officer was involved.
The rules and regulations for the Iditarod sled dog race supposedly penalize mushers who mistreat their dogs.
It appears that people who participate in the extreme exploitation of dogs are not deterred by the rules and regulations for sled dog racing anymore than people who participate in the extreme exploitation of horses are deterred by the rules for horse racing.
It appears that people who participate in the extreme exploitation of horses and dogs seem to believe that the rules are made to be broken.
RIP
If your local vet examined 1 Dog that had “Sudden death episode while jogging” ,abrasions around both eye sockets , foam oozing from dogs severe, chronic stomach ulcers,” and – “tapeworms in the cecum.”
I’m pretty sure they would get the police involved.
Oh and it’s interesting that there is still nothing on the web from other media sources regarding the 2 breakdowns at Santa Anita Sunday, they are usually on top of those.
How is it that the veterinary community is unable to determine the cause of a sudden death?
Are they legally bound to pinpoint the exact cause or what?
Why can’t they say if the horse had certain conditions going on inside the body that pointed to a sudden death?
Why can’t they say that it’s possible that the horse may have been run to the point of not being able to get enough oxygen in the blood to sustain life?
Do they still not have the ability to detect certain drugs in the body of a horse that died suddenly while being forced to run carrying the weight of a whip-wielding rider?
Poor Ounce, what in the world. “While jogging”?? If he was jogging, that is just a quick trot. It sounds like he had a high speed wreck to have abrasions around both eye sockets! Something sounds a little off there!